To best deploy Tulane Health System’s resources to meet community needs, the Tulane Lakeside Hospital emergency department hasl temporarily closed.
“Tulane Lakeside has no patients being treated, or awaiting test results, for suspected COVID-19,” said Dr. Bob Lynch, Tulane Health System CEO. “Closing the ER here will allow us to move key clinical staff and physicians to the downtown Tulane Medical Center campus, which is experiencing a surge of COVID-19 and suspected COVID-19 patients.”
Tulane Lakeside Hospital remains open for inpatient services, including women’s services, neonatal intensive care services, orthopedics, and inpatient rehabilitation. This is a temporary closure, Lynch said, and the ER will re-open as soon as possible.
To reiterate CDC guidelines, people who are sick with COVID-19 symptoms – fever, cough, and shortness of breath – should first call their primary care doctor. Most people will not experience symptoms serious enough to be hospitalized, and can recover at home (practicing social distancing to help prevent COVID-19 spread.) Visit an ER or call 911 if you have these symptoms and experience warning signs such as:
-Difficulty breathing
-Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
-New confusion or inability to arouse
-Bluish lips or face
Older adults, or those with pre-existing health concerns, should also take special care.
“This decision reflects our overarching responsibility to whatever we can to meet this unprecedented challenge,” Lynch said. “I thank all our staff and caregivers – and those throughout our community – for their continued selfless work to care for those in need.”